


Cassia's Comfort

by dwarrowdams



Series: Eadgyd, But Not Sad [4]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Depression, Gen, Sad with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Thoughts, Trauma, okay but I promise it has a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26227399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwarrowdams/pseuds/dwarrowdams
Summary: Eadgyd returns home after a bout of misery and madness and is comforted by her rabbit Cassia.  TW for suicidal ideation.
Series: Eadgyd, But Not Sad [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877335
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2
Collections: All the Eadgyd All the Time





	Cassia's Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> For those not familiar with Adventures in Middle-earth: characters accumulate shadow points from seeing/experiencing difficult things. Once your shadow score is equal to wisdom, you become Miserable and have a bout of madness.
> 
> So you can probably guess what happened to Eadgyd in campaign today.
> 
> Fortunately, she has a service rabbit which was trained by her youngest sister (Frida) to help with her depression and PTSD symptoms and assist with small tasks that might be difficult for Eadgyd due to having one arm. (I'd planned on writing the fic where she gets her service rabbit before this, but this one decided to come first, so just know that Cassia the service rabbit is a cross between Sage the rabbit [who belongs to Frida] and a Rhosgobel rabbit, which means she's intelligent and larger than a normal rabbit, but not quite as wild as a Rhosgobel rabbit).
> 
> Since there's a lot of rabbit body language in this fic, see the end notes for a guide to what it all means.

Eadgyd barely made it in the door before the tears began to fall.

The hopelessness that had plagued her on her journey hit her full-force now that she had the time to process everything. The crushing darkness of the caves, rushing to protect Lottie from the warg, and snarling at the young hobbit like something feral, hit Eadgyd with full force. She dragged herself to her bed, not bothering to remove her boots or prosthetic before she collapsed on it, her body wracked with sobs.

A small nudge at her hip caused her to look up and see Cassia staring at her, ears forward and eyes wide. Eadgyd thought of saying something to ease the rabbit’s worry, but decided otherwise. It was no good hiding one’s sorrow from a rabbit trained to detect it, after all.

“Oh Cass, it was horrible,” she sobbed as she buried her head in the pillow. “It’s never been so bad since Eadgar died.”

The rabbit nudged her again before settling beside Eadgyd, her ears still erect.

“Everything was just so dark,” she said in between sobs, too distraught to even reach out and stroke Cassia as she normally would. “And I thought...what is the point of my life without his? We were born so close together, so why should we die so far apart? Misfortune kept me alive on the battlefield that day, so tis time for me to take fate into my own hands and finish what the Uruk did not.”

Cassia let out a small honk as if to disagree with Eadgyd before she began licking the Beorning’s arm.

Eadgyd’s sobs subsided slightly at the feeling of the rabbit’s tongue. “I still don’t know why I’m here, Cass,” she admitted. “What do I bring to the world? What purpose does my life have now that it is cleft in twain?”

Cassia nudged her way beneath Eadgyd’s hand, which instinctively began to stroke the rabbit. “All I wanted was to live out my life in peace, and yet darkness haunts me at every turn. In journeying with my companions, it has entered my mind in ways I could never have imagined, and I am easy prey for it.”

Eadgyd continued to pet Cassia as she spoke. “I thought that I might have more resilience, but the more cruelty I see, the more hopeless I find myself. What can I do in the face of all this evil? What can anyone do?”

She rolled onto her back and shifted into a sitting position, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m still not sure,” she admitted as she took Cassia into her arms, stroking the rabbit’s head. “I do know one thing, though: I’m glad you’re here with me.”

In response, Cassia began grinding her teeth, her eyes nearly shut with contentment as Eadgyd stroked her.

“You’re such a good girl,” Eadgyd murmured to her. “You might not be able to speak with me in the traditional sense, but you understand me in a way others may not.”

Cassia began licking Eadgyd’s arm vigorously, as if to reassure her that she did understand and she was here to support Eadgyd even in her worst moments. She continued licking Eadgyd until her sobs had completely subsided.

“Sometimes you’re the only reason I want to carry on,” Eadgyd admitted as she leaned down to kiss Cassia on the head. “The world may be full of cruelty, but at least I can feed you fresh vegetables and give you all the attention you deserve.”

Cassia made a contented humming noise at this, nestling into the crook of Eadgyd’s arm.

“That would be a life, hmm?” Eadgyd said. “Me doing nothing but growing vegetables and treating you like the queen you are.”

Cassia hummed several more times, clearly pleased with the idea of becoming a rabbit queen.

“You like that idea, don’t you, Cass?” she asked as she set Cassia down on the bed and stood up. “In that case, I think there are some vegetables in the garden just waiting for you. Shall we go check?”

Cassia didn’t need any further prompting. She leapt down from the bed and did a small dance as she rushed towards the door, far ahead of Eadgyd.

**Author's Note:**

> For those not familiar with rabbit behavior, here's a quick guide:
> 
> Ears forward and eyes wide - alert, ready to detect danger  
> Nudging - seeking attention  
> Honking - warning someone to stop it or back off (in this case, Cassia's basically saying "don't you DARE hurt yourself!")  
> Eyes closed - trusting, feels safe  
> Grinding teeth - content (equivalent to a cat purring)  
> Licking - bunny equivalent of kissing—how rabbits show affection to their kits and mates  
> Humming - content, but with more excitement than grinding teeth (can also indicate arousal but that's not the case here)  
> Dance - leaping with joy and twisting in the air; sometimes referred to as a binky
> 
> Anyways, this wasn't as joyous as I'd planned, but I am working on Eadgyd and Hild blacksmithing toplessly, so please forgive me for the last three things I posted being sad (or at least bittersweet). There are buff topless ladies, teenage Eadgar being a goofball, and Lottie Lavina Littlefoot (the Lottie mentioned in this fic—a Hobbit Master Healer and another player's character) coming up in future fics.
> 
> (if you're curious, you can also see a drawing of Cassia carrying a letter to Eadgyd on Tumblr—it's my pinned post)
> 
> Leave a comment if you enjoyed this!
> 
> Tumblr: dwarrowdams  
> Twitter: @_tenderqueer


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